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Ten teams of 21 African social entrepreneurs have been selected as winners of the 2017 Resolution Social Venture Challenge at the Baobab Summit in Johannesburg.

The 2017 cohort of social venture challenge winners include projects based in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ghana Uganda, Rwanda, and the United States, according to a statement on Wednesday.

The Resolution Social Venture Challenge – which is a collaboration between the MasterCard Foundation and The Resolution Project – provides a pathway to action for socially responsible young leaders who create change that matters in their communities.

“Giving back to your community is an important part of the Scholars Program, yet few young leaders have the opportunity to make an impact at a young age," said Ashley Collier, Manager of the Scholars Community at the MasterCard Foundation. “The Social Venture Challenge equips these young leaders with the tools, resources, mentorship and capital they need to ensure that their venture is successful, and to maximize their impact.”

In 2016, the Mastercard Foundation partnered with The Resolution Project to offer 16 Scholars on five competing teams the opportunity to pursue their aspirations and increase their appetite for leadership and impact. Winning projects address a wide range of challenges Scholars observed first-hand in their communities, including food security, access to sanitation, and young women's access to reproductive health education.

Winning teams earn a fellowship that includes seed funding, mentorship and access to a network of young global change-makers to pursue impactful projects in their communities.

Impact evaluation data reported by The Resolution Project shows that, while type and reach of impact varies, an average of 3,200 community members benefit per fellowship awarded. With over 350 Resolution Fellows active in 65 countries, more than 1.2 million people worldwide have been positively impacted by their work.

“We are fortunate to have such an outstanding partner in the Mastercard Foundation,” says George M. Tsiatis, CEO & Co-Founder of The Resolution Project. “The Foundation saw the work that we were doing and the ideas that their Scholars had -- it was a perfect match, and we are thrilled to be expanding our efforts together to give these young leaders a platform from which to launch lifetimes of impact!”

Some the 2017 Social Venture Challenge winners include: Clive Matsika (AgriMatters, Arizona State University) - with his AgriMatters initiative, Clive will partner local fertilizer companies in Zimbabwe, harnessing nanotechnology to manufacture Greenfert, a rich, environmentally friendly fertilizer that can be sold to farmers at a reduced cost.

Kayiza Isma and Nsubuga Thomas (Sparky Thermal Dehydrator, Makerere University): To address post-harvest losses, a leading cause of food insecurity in Uganda; Kayiza and Nsubuga will introduce the Sparky thermal dehydrator. Sparky, which operates using bio-fuels as a source of energy, is a low-cost, efficient device that dries farm produce 10 times faster than the conventional sun drying methods.

Sylvia Mwangi (Baringo Asali, University of Toronto): By working closely with marginalized communities in Baringo, Kenya, Sylvia aims to increase local revenue generated from honey production. Through partnerships with local and international apiaries, Sylvia will roll out training in advanced beekeeping techniques and local community skills training.

“Winning the Social Venture Challenge will help us achieve our goals, communicating to our community in Baringo County, the huge potential in honey production," says Sylvia Mwangi, a Mastercard Foundation Scholar from the University of Toronto. "With the mentorship offered to winners of the Challenge, we will design capacity-building workshops in bee-keeping that will change how women spend their days, and we will develop sales channels that will reduce the exploitation by middlemen."